Thursday, September 28, 2017

Three people working on the WSVN
television transmission tower have died after the ginpole they were on
collapsed in Miami Gardens, FL late Wednesday afternoon according to WSVN,
the station that housed the tower. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to
the scene at 501 NW 207 Street in Miami Gardens, at around 4 p.m.

The ginpole gave way, according to witnesses, killing three crew
members hired by WSVN to work on the tower, which is shared with WPLG, WSVN reported. According
to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, the crew fell about 300 to 400 feet. WSVN
said they had hired Tower King II out of Texas to do work on the tower. Continue Reading

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

For much of yesterday’s FCC meeting, Commissioners agreed on many things, but when it came to the 20thMobile Wireless Competition Report,
the gloves came off. Republican Chairman Ajit Pai and his fellow GOP
Commissioners Michael O’Rielly and Brendan Carr agreed the statistics
from 2016 and early 2017 show there is effective competition in the
wireless markets. The report makes interesting conclusions about tower site pricing as well.

O’Rielly said “nationwide providers
are investing in infrastructure and fiercely competing for customers.”
Carr agreed, adding: “Wireless prices are falling. Speeds are
increasing. To get there, the FCC has to do its part, finding ways to
drive down the regulatory costs of deploying fiber and small cells.”
Getting this done is going to be one of his priorities, Carr said. Continue Reading

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

AT&T continues to work around the
clock to help the people of Puerto Rico recover from Hurricanes Maria
and Irma. The company set up awebsitethat
will let anyone stateside (regardless of carrier) to register the cell
phone number of a family member or friend who is an AT&T wireless
customer in Puerto Rico. When the Puerto Rico-based customer’s cell
phone connects to the AT&T network in Puerto Rico, the customer will
be notified their family or friends in the U.S. have been trying to
reach them.The family member or friend who
registered will also be notified through email when additional service
in Puerto Rico has been restored. AT&T Communications CEO John
Donovan said critical help began arriving over the weekend and more is
on the way. He went with one of the relief flights into San Juan to help
assess damage and develop recovery plans. More flights and ships
carrying communications equipment and supplies are arriving in the
coming days. The equipment includes generators, fuel and satellite
devices for first responders as well as food, bottled water and
personnel. Continue Reading

Monday, September 25, 2017

More than 1,600 public comments have poured into the FCC in response to the agency’s inquiry about broadband deployment. Inside Towers
examined some of the comments concerning one controversial FCC proposal
that calls for lowering the threshold speed for mobile broadband from
the current 25 Megabits-per-second (Mbps) download speed and three Mbps
upload speed, down to 10 Mbps download speed and one Mbps upload speed,
to more closely match the current speeds subscribers are paying for.

That benchmark was “arbitrarily
selected” based on a hypothetical family’s theoretical bandwidth
requirements for simultaneous use of multiple devices engaged in
bandwidth-intensive activities, according to USTelecom.
“It would be disruptive for the Commission to change or eliminate the
current benchmark without evidence that broadband at those speeds does
not meet the need of consumers as they typically use broadband services
today,” USTelecom told the Commission, urging no change to the standard.

ITTA – The Voice of America’s
Broadband Providers, agrees, saying the FCC should maintain the current
speed thresholds for fixed broadband. Changing it would be confusing and
if replaced often, it would no longer provide the reference point that
is the essence of a “benchmark.” Continue Reading

Friday, September 22, 2017

A
battle is being waged over whether the FCC should foster access to
spectrum for a variety of network solutions, or primarily for the
current, large mobile carriers in the Citizens Broadband Radio Service.
The FCC in 2016 opened up the CBRS band for both licensed and unlicensed
sharing with U.S. Navy radar operations at 3.5 GHz and satellite earth
stations. The FCC wants to make licensed spectrum affordable to deliver
high quality broadband internet, cellular offload and capacity
densification, and similar connectivity services, like the Internet of
Things. Priority Access Licenses (PALs) cover small areas and are re-auctioned after relatively short (three or six-year) terms.

However, CTIA and T-Mobile recently
petitioned the Commission to redefine PALs to be like traditional
cellular licenses – covering multi-county areas and renewing
automatically, arguing that small-area and competitive licenses don’t
provide business certainty or an investment incentive, Inside Towers
reported. Companies such as General Electric, rural co-ops and local
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) – argue this would make the licenses
unaffordable to all but the large national mobile carriers. Companies
like these, that want to deploy services on the CBRS band, made the case
for the FCC leaving the rules largely intact during a panel discussion
at theNew America think tank in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. Continue Reading

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Idaho and Texas have become the 20th and 21st
states to opt-in to the FirstNet nationwide mobile broadband
communications network for first responders, after Maryland joined
earlier this week.Texas is the largest state to make the decision. “As
we saw in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, our first responders are
often the last and only hope for safety in rapidly-changing and
life-threatening situations, but this partnership with FirstNet and
AT&T, allows Texas’ fire, police, EMS and other public safety
personnel to be better equipped when responding in these emergencies,”announced Governor Greg Abbott.

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar
agreed, calling the support the state received from AT&T and
FirstNet during the response to Harvey “incredible, and with this
partnership, it will only get better.” Continue Reading

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

FCC
Commissioner Michael O’Rielly told rural broadband providers Tuesday
the agency’s “rate of return” framework is “sound” and not too
complicated. Released last spring, the Rate of Return Order was intended
to achieve a long-term fiscally-responsible system to provide certainty
for carriers to invest in broadband and expand their service to rural
America.

He spoke at the fall conference of
the WTA, Advocates for Rural Broadband, formerly called the Western
Telecommunications Alliance. O’Rielly said
the reforms established requirements to extend broadband to unserved
consumers, to better target funding to where it is needed most while
being cognizant of prior investments, and to prevent funding areas where
actual competition exists. They also improved transparency and
accountability regarding how the funding is used. It’s voluntary for
carriers. More than 200 rate-of-return carriers in 43 states elected and
have been authorized to receive model support. Continue Reading

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Verizon is lobbying the FCC in
support of lessening barriers to fiber deployment and speeding review of
small cell applications. In meetings with the Wireless and Wireline
Bureaus, among others, Verizon discussed the need to deploy small cells
and fiber quickly, to support network densification. The carrier secured
a supply of fiber through its multi-year deals with fiber manufacturers
like Corning. “But to make it a reality –
and thus to support the investment and jobs that come with fiber
expansion,” executives explained the company needs to hang small cells
and string fiber to provide the necessary backhaul. “In some locations, local electric
companies take nine months or more to complete the pole-attachment
process, and we have often seen delays of twelve months or longer to get
new fiber on a pole,” states Verizon Managing Associate General Counsel
Katharine Saunders, in a filing describing the meetings. “We’ve found
that the sequential nature of make-ready work means that one party’s
delay in completing its make-ready work often delays other parties’
ability to begin their make-ready work.” Continue Reading

Monday, September 18, 2017

The
FCC finalized the technical criteria the Commission will use to
evaluate plans from those states that elect to opt-out of the network
that will be deployed by the First Responder Network Authority. In June,
the agency adopted procedures for administering the state opt-out
process, Inside Towers reported, and then sought public input on its technical criteria.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said the decision
is another step towards the creation of a nationwide interoperable
public safety broadband network. First responders “put their lives on
the line each and every day to keep us safe. We owe it to them to give
them the tools they need to do their jobs.” Continue Reading

Friday, September 15, 2017

In a hearing that turned contentious
at times, members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Committee on Thursday examined waste and mismanagement in the
FCC’s Lifeline program, which helps subsidize broadband and phone
services for low-income users.

Chairman Sen. Ron Johnson, (R-WI) said
given the problems theGovernment Accountability Office
found in its investigation, hard questions need to be asked. “Should we
end the program? Maybe we should start thinking about banking the
money.” Continue Reading

Thursday, September 14, 2017

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn plan to travel
to Florida on Monday to see first-hand, the damage caused by Hurricane
Irma. They’ll meet with those engaged in recovery operations, and
receive updates about the ongoing efforts to restore communications
services.

“Hurricane Irma has had a serious impact on communications networks
in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands,” said Pai. “The
FCC is committed to supporting recovery efforts, and I am grateful for
the work that first responders, emergency personnel, and state and local
partners are doing to restore service in affected areas. I’m pleased
that Commissioner Clyburn is joining me to get a firsthand look at the
damage caused by Irma and meet with those engaged in recovery efforts.”Continue Reading

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai praised the efforts of the wireless
communications industry in the wake of back-to-back hurricanes Harvey
and Irma. Speaking to attendees of the Mobile World Congress Americas 2017
on Tuesday, Pai said the FCC, along with other federal agencies like
the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, as well as state and local agencies, monitor communications. He
thanked all the agencies’ “incredible staffers on the ground.”

“It will be a long time before we’ll be able to calculate the total
amount of damage inflicted by Harvey and Irma. But we already know one
thing: it would have been a lot worse if it weren’t for wireless
communications,” said Pai. Continue Reading

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

As Hurricane Irma leaves the battered Southeastern coast, Sen. Chuck
Schumer (D-NY) is taking the opportunity to stress the importance of a
bill currently up for debate in the U.S. Senate. According to the New York Daily News, H.R. 588
will require cell phones to work on all carriers’ networks in the event
of natural disasters. Originally presented by Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr.
(D-NJ) in January, the Securing Access to Networks in Disasters Act
already passed the House of Representatives. Although it places more
requirements on carriers, the bill will also provide telecommunications
companies with emergency access to repairs reserved for utilities, says NJ.com. Continue Reading

Monday, September 11, 2017

Tower companies are facing a climber
crunch, a factor to consider as television stations face the upcoming
channel repack. The television tall tower work, combined with
densification of carrier networks, tower work for FirstNet and upcoming
FAA tower marking mandates are all happening at the same time, according
to National Association of Tower Erectors Chairman Jim Tracy.

“This is creating the perfect storm
for tower companies,” he told lawmakers at the House Commerce
Communications Subcommittee on Thursday.
During a hearing on the repack, Tracy said NATE has contacted OSHA, the
FAA, the FCC and other federal agencies to discuss safety and bring more
climbers into the industry. “At present, there are not enough qualified
workers to do all this work,” and the demands will be exacerbated by
the repack, he testified. Continue Reading

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

On Monday, Governor Scott issuedExecutive Order 17-235
declaring a state of emergency in all 67 counties within the State of
Florida. Yesterday Governor Scott requested that President Donald Trump declare a pre-landfall emergency
for the State of Florida in preparation for Hurricane Irma to provide
important preparation resources and assistance from the federal
government. The State Emergency Operations Center has been activated to
level one, which is a full-scale, 24-hours-a-day activation.

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

CTIA-the
Wireless Association and T-Mobile have weighed in on the FCC’s proposal
to add a Blue Alert code to Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and the
broadcast Emergency Alert System (EAS). Blue Alerts, meant to signal a
police officer is in danger, can be transmitted to cell phones and
wireless devices, broadcast stations, overhead highway message signs,
and other secondary alerting mechanisms – in the same way Amber Alerts
are issued.

The FCC proposes calling the new event code “BLU” and classifying it as either an Imminent Threat Alert or a Public Safety Message, depending on the circumstances.
CTIA and T-Mobile tell the agency in filed comments, Blue Alerts could
be incorporated into the existing WEA as an imminent threat without any
new standards or system modifications. “This approach would allow the
integration of a dedicated ‘BLU’ code within an existing alert class,
without the delay that would result from new testing requirements and
network/handset modifications,” says CTIA. “Notably, integration as an
Imminent Threat alert would allow a seamless delivery of Blue Alerts to
all WEA-capable mobile devices, including legacy devices.” Continue Reading

Friday, September 1, 2017

Several USTelecom members have
operations in and around the areas that have been impacted by Harvey,
and their employees are working 24/7 in emergency operations centers to
keep networks up and running, as well as restore service in areas around
Houston that have been flooded. While Inside Towershas
been keeping readers up-to-date with the restoration efforts of the
larger carriers, USTelecom shines a light on what some of its other
members are doing in ablog post.

Consolidated Communicationsactivatedits
Emergency Operations Center, equipping its fleet with extra fuel,
ensuring backup generators are working and placing extra emergency
supplies in key areas, so employees can focus on keeping the network
operational.

Orlando-based Smart City Telecom,
which provides internet services in convention centers, amusement parks
and hotels, flew staff to Texas to help relieve local employees and keep
its WiFi and voice networks operational for storm victims who’ve taken
refuge at the George R. Brown Convention Center and NRG Stadium in
Houston. Continue Reading

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